The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects the statements made by the Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mame Mandiaye Niang, within the framework of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute that is taking place in the city of The Hague, Netherlands.
The information was announced by the Chancellor of the Republic, Yván Gil, through an Official Statement published on his Telegram channel, in response to the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announcing this Monday that it will close its office in Caracas. The organization’s deputy prosecutor, Mame Mandiaye Niang, explained in his opening speech to the 24th Assembly of States Parties that, despite the “sustained commitment” maintained with the Venezuelan authorities, the ICC concluded that “real progress in complementarity remains a challenge.”
In the letter, Venezuela points out that the ICC prosecutor neglects his duties to justify legal colonialism against Venezuela while ignoring Israel’s genocide.
The statement notes that Venezuela was the first country on the continent to ratify the Rome Statute and, since then, has shown a firm commitment to the International Criminal Court system.
«Venezuela has linked itself in good faith with the ICC Prosecutor’s Office in a process that, clearly, does not fit into the assumptions provided for in the Rome Statute, but that aims to satisfy the anti-Venezuela agenda promoted by hegemonic centers. “It is very obvious that crimes against humanity have not been committed in our country and we have demonstrated this in all instances of a process instrumentalized for geopolitical purposes.”
Below is the full text of the statement:
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects the statements made by the Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mame Mandiaye Niang, within the framework of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute that is taking place in the city of The Hague, Netherlands.
It is worth remembering that Venezuela was the first country on the continent to ratify the Rome Statute and, since then, has shown a firm commitment to the International Criminal Court system.
Venezuela has linked itself in good faith with the ICC Prosecutor’s Office in a process that, clearly, does not fit into the assumptions provided for in the Rome Statute, but that aims to satisfy the anti-Venezuela agenda promoted by hegemonic centers. It is very obvious that crimes against humanity have not been committed in our country and we have demonstrated this in all instances of a process instrumentalized for geopolitical purposes.
Despite this, Venezuela – in a clear spirit of international cooperation – committed to mechanisms of positive complementarity, aimed at strengthening national capacities to ensure the effective administration of justice in our country, and reaffirming that Venezuelan primary jurisdiction is irreplaceable.
Within the framework of said process, Venezuela and the Prosecutor’s Office signed two memorandums of understanding and a roadmap to agree on mechanisms that effectively contribute to national efforts in matters of justice and human rights. In these documents, the Prosecutor’s Office assumed responsibility for supporting national institutions and launching an office in national territory to provide technical assistance to the country’s institutions.
However, unfortunately, the ICC Prosecutor’s Office did not show the slightest commitment or spirit of cooperation. Despite more than 7 months having passed since the inauguration of its office in Caracas, the Prosecutor’s Office never designated personnel to occupy these spaces. Nor did he formulate his contributions and recommendations to the various initiatives in Venezuela, irresponsibly ignoring the responsibilities previously assumed. His agenda in the country was very clear: ignore it and do nothing and then exploit justice for political purposes.
It is shameful that in dark hours when humanity is a silent witness to the worst genocide known against the Palestinian people, this international organization has only taken timid and fearful steps to bring the perpetrators of terrible crimes against humanity to international justice. The Israeli regime and its criminals roam the world with total impunity.
Likewise, more than five years have passed without the ICC Prosecutor’s Office even ruling on the “Venezuela II” case, which exposed and brought before that instance the crimes committed by the articulators of the most brutal economic blockade against the Venezuelan people. The silence of the ICC has been overwhelming.
Venezuela will continue to exercise all the actions at its disposal to make the truth prevail and defend its rights as a Nation, against any formula of legal colonialism that seeks to use the institutionality of the International Criminal Court for political purposes, in clear contravention of its reason for being and the norms and principles of international law.
The truth of our country will prevail, the maneuvers of those who have historically instrumentalized the ICC against the countries of the global south that do not subordinate themselves to the mandates of the destabilizing and decadent North have been exposed. We are sons and daughters of liberators, and we owe ourselves to their true doctrine of justice. Venezuela will always win.
Caracas, December 1, 2025
